Improvement in the manufacture of blades of pocket-cutlery



WILLIAIVI H. MILLER AND GEORGE W. MILLER OF MERIDEN PATENT OEEICE.

, CONNECTICUT.

vIMPEovEn/IENT 1N THE MANUEACTURE or BLADES 0E POCKELCUTLERY.

Specilication forming part of Letters Patent No. 106,073, dated August2, 1870.

` Cutlery; and wedo hereby declare that the following is a full, clear,and exact description thereof, reference being had to the accompany-`ing drawings, making part of this specification, and to uthe letters ofreference marked thereon, in which i Figure 1 is a plan View of one-halfthe die. Fig. 2 isa plan `view of the other portion. Fig. 3 is a sideview, showing the break-down die. FigA is a `vertical transverse sectionof the dies, when `placed together, through line C `D ofFig. 3. Fig. 5is avertical transverse section of the same through line E Fof Fig. 2.Fig. 6 is a vertical transverse section ofthe same through line Gr` HfofFig.`2. Fig. 7-N

is a side View of a blank afterbeing operated upon by the break-down dieo, and M is a plan view of the'same piece after being operated upon bythe finishing-die L. Fig. 8 is a view of a blade after it has beenforged and the .burrlremovedp` `Our invention relates to the manufactureof bladesl for pocket-cutlery; and consists of two dies or pairs ofdies, 'used in' connection with each other, one of the said dies orpairs of dies preparing the metal in the bar for its nal shape bypressing or gathering it together at certain places, for the purpose ofbringing the stock in a common bar of metal to those points where it ismostneeded in the manufacture of the blade. The otllerdie or pair ofdies gives the desired final `shape o r form to the blade, bothoperations being performed while the metal is properly heated, andpressure applied to the dies while the metal is placed therein.

The object of our invention is to enable the `manufacturer to form theblades of pocketcutlery `with as little manipulation ofthe metal aspossible, and yet not be obliged to use bars of metal of such size as toincur too much rwaste in their manufacture, thus saving time,

- scribe the same and its application to use.

In the drawing, A and B' represent two blocks of metal,'which, forconvenience, contain the two dies required for the conversion of aportion of a bar of steel into a blank knife-blade; and, although thedies arein two parts-that is, one-half of the die is in one block, A,and the other in the block B--I denoniinatethe halves one die, inasmuchas the halves are necessary to give the required form to the metal. Oneof these dies I denominate the break-down, as it isV designed to breakdown or depress the metal or crowd it together in certain places, makingthe bar thicker in some parts and smaller in others, and this break-downis represented upon the side O ofthe blocks A and B. The form of thisdie is shown more fully in'Fig.V 3, in'which x" is a recess, terminatingat each end iny the elevated points s and s', the'point s being thehighest, and from these two points the planes n' and m extend, incliningdownward as they approach the ends Vof the block B. In the block Aisanother recess, w, opposite the one in the block B, and terminating inthe ridges s and s, and in said recess 06 is a protuberance, From theseridges s ands/f the planes a and 'm extend each way, and incline upwardas they approach 'the ends' of the block A. The depressions x" andfc/"f, and the protuberance when the blocks A Aand B are placedtogether, form a recess, which somewhat resembles, and approximates inits form, the heel of the knife-blade or the cavity ain the die.

The line t in Fig. 3 represents the line of division between the blocksA and B. In practice, one of the blocks is set in aflrm and solidposition, while the other is fixed in a position to move downward uponthe other block, and if a bar of metal be heated and placed lengthwisein the die thus described the ridges or parts s ands", and also s and8"', approach nearer to each other than at any other part of the dies orblocks, and the metal is pressed harder at those points and is forcedback each way, a part being crowded back into the recess at zu" 00',while Vthe-space between the planes a and a and m and m being widest atthe outer ends, the metal is forced outward toward the ends and assumesthe form of the break-down die, and the metal is forced, in a bar ofVuniform size, by this process into those parts of the bar where it isrequired to have the largest quantity of stock, and without the longerprocess of hand-forging, as is now prac ticed. This operation ofbreaking down the metal brings it into the form shown iu Fig. 7, at N,wherein the metal at a is pressed into the proper form and in the rightquantity to till the part a in the die A B, which forms the heel of theblade, this part requiring more metal than the same length of any otherpart of the blade. The part b of the blank N also contains about theright quantityot' metal to form the blade by pressure in the die A B.

The cavity dis made in the blocks A and B, and is so shallow as to pressthe bar of metal very thin when placed therein. The size oi' thiscavity, when the parts A and B of the die are placed together, is shownmore fully in Fig. 6, and when the bar of meta-l has been pressed inthis part of the die it is then in better shape to be drawn out into theproper form for the blade by the break-down die, hereinbefore described.

The cavity a is fiat at its base, and is of the proper size and shape toform the entire heel of the blade, and is shown in erosssection iu Fig.5.

The cavity b is made one half in one block, A, and the other half in theblock B, the part b being that part of the die which forms the blade atits thickest or heaviest part along the back. The part along the dottedline c is made more shallow, while the part at c', from the part u tothe end of the die, is made a little deeper, to allow room for the waste stock when the pressure is applied to the metal in the die, and ashallow cavity is also made at c, extending from the point e to theouter end of the die. This cavity c also allows room for the waste stockof the blade when pressure is applied to the metal in the die.

The edges t of the cavity b may be beveled in such portions as aredesirable to give the proper bevel to the back and point of the blade.That part of the die which is thus described and forms the blade isshown in crosssection in Fig. 4.

No shallow cavities are required around the part a of the die, as it isdesigned that as little waste stock should be left projecting from theheel of the blade in the blank as possible, while it is desirable thatthe blade should be left a little thicker in the blank than in theiinished blade, in order to have suiicient metal to operate uponsuccessfully in the process of tempering the blade and in giving it itsfinal finish.

The small cavity o is made merely to give sufficient metal at that pointin the blank to hold the blank blade to the rod in punching oli' thewaste stock or burr from the blade.

Fig. 8 represents a blade after the Waste stock or burr has beenremoved, which may be done by means of' a die and counter-die of thedesired shape of the blade.

1t will be perceived that by this operation the whole process of formingthe blade of a pocketknife is con fined or limited to threc simpleoperations or movements of a die, while the small amount of timerequired to form each and the facility with which any number of bladesof any desired style or pattern may be produced without the leastvariation renders this process a very advantageous one over the oldprocess of forging the blades by hand.

Having thus described our invention, what we claim as new, and desire tosecure by Letters Patent, is-

The process herein described of forging the blades ofpocket-cutlery--that is to say, by rst subjecting the metal to pressurein the break -down die O, and then iinishing the forging of the same bysubmitting it to pressure in the inishing-die L, substantially as hereinset forth.

WM. H. MILLER. GEO. W. MILLER. Witnesses:

ORviLLE H. PLArr, JOHN Q. THAYER.

